Ok so we are thinking about getting a rat.

I don't really want to spend $150 on the cages they have in town so I was looking for alternatives.
I though ooooh we have a 3ft fish tank in the shed... but then I looked online and nope, can't use that, not enough ventilation.

Then I remembered my MIL has an old bird cage in the shed, it would be perfect for a rat... but then I looked online and found that you shouldn't have only 1 rat, you need a pair, it's not big enough for 2 rats.

Then I came up with the bright idea of going to a glasier and getting ventilation holes cut in the fish tank.

Anyone know if that would be OK? And do you really NEED 2 rats or could you just have 1? It would be housed in the living room where we spend most of our time.

Also (grasping at straws) could you have a rat and a rabbit together... not LIVING together, but could I combine Dora and the rats free-run time in the house or would that be asking for trouble?

I have often heard that rats make good pets. There is absolutely no yuck factor involved with them, they clean are and very social. Unfortunately get a bad rap from horror movies.

Here is a website that you can read through. I think its pretty good information for someone wishing one for a pet, but, they are classed as 'exotic pets' which I think come with some handling and housing restrictions.

Yes, I think having the holes cut in that aquarium would work.

Exoticpets.about.com/cs/careofrats/a/ratsaspets.htm

Sorry Shazzy, I don't know much about rats.

I do know that the concern with a glass enclosure is not air holes, but heat. Glass holds in heat and doesn't ventilate well. I don't think drilling holes will help much, but that's just my opinion. ;)

Well, here goes my first post on the new skin. I hope it works. ;)

Yeah, I'm not brave enough to venture into new skin territory just yet, too early in the morning for me.

Heat won't really be a problem as a) it's the middle of winter and b) V hates any sort of heat so it's like a freezer even in summer lol
I'll try and get a wire cage though, even if it's a second hand bird one, I'll just scrub it really well.
It sucks because there used to be basically a reject shop here, but it was a couple of guys who would raid peoples trailers at the dump before it all got thrown out, then sell it super cheap. You could get an old bird cage for $2... they closed down about 6 months ago when they redeisgned the dump.

I used to have a pet rat, his name was mickey. We found a rabbit cage (Just one you by at the pet shop) for $20 at a garage sale and bought it. We used.. some sort of wire (Chicken wire sort of but smaller) and zip tide it all around the cage. He lived happily in his cage and never escaped, he also lived alone. He lived for five years, after we moved he got sick.

He was a great pet, and pretty interesting. He was extremely friendly, I think I was 9-10 at the time and he never bit me or tried to get away.

If you get a reptile lid for the tank and drill the hole I wouldn't see a problem. Just check the temperature and make sure it is okay, if not I'd go with a different option.

Thanks Emily, so you never had any trouble keeping just 1 on it's own... interesting. I told V about having 2 together and his response was "oooh then we can have one each!" But I'm not sure if I'm ready for 2 of them! Heck I'm not sure I'm ready for 1! :D

Nah, he was a happy little guy all by himself... plus my mom would have died with two running around. She hates mice and rats and such.. Dad thought it was pretty funny though..

Years ago my mum bought her friends son a rat for his birthday as a joke (because her friend hated rats)
Turns out he was the best pet they have ever had, they loved him.

From what I have read about males they leave urine spots around the house everywhere to mark their scent... is that true, or just one of those over exaggerated stories?
That's the only thing that turned me off getting a male, even though they are supposed to be cuddlier than females.

Pssst, shaz...

craigslist: australia classifieds for jobs, apartments, personals, for sale, services, community, and events (http://geo.craigslist.org/iso/au)

Depending on where you live, might find a bargain rat or two with a cage that someone is looking to rehome. :) Or, just a cage?

He never peed while out of his cage, he pooped a lot... but never peed.

Pssst, shaz......

craigslist: australia classifieds for jobs, apartments, personals, for sale, services, community, and events (http://geo.craigslist.org/iso/au)

depending on where you live, might find a bargain rat or two with a cage that someone is looking to rehome. :) Or, just a cage?

There's only 1 thing in my state and it's a wanted ad :rolleyes:
Thanks for the site though, I have it bookmarked so I can keep an eye on it.

I've heard that they're really smart animals and very easy to tame. So are mice. Actually, mice are better than hamsters. When we were getting hammies for the kids I almost decided on a mouse instead. Sadly the cages we had were hamster cages, the bars are too far apart for a mouse. :(

Shazzy, you could always build a cage. You did for Dora, and it was great. :)

I don't know a lot about rats, they're illegal pets here, so are turtles.

You can't own rats there? :eek:
Why the heck not!

It's illegal to own rabbits in Queensland because they are considered 'pests'. You can get away with pretty much anything where I live though and if you can't, you can just get a license for it.

We are still deciding... I think I'm nearly a rat expert from the amount of reading I've been doing :p
I thought about building a cage, it probably wouldn't be that hard, and it wouldn't need to be anywhere near as big as the rabbit one we made.
I might go price some wire sheets tomorrow :D

Personally... I wouldn't make a cage, I'd be to scared they'd get out, but them again I can't build ANYTHING.

Hehe, I wouldn't trust myself to build anything either, but my OH is pretty handy with a welder, the indoor bunny cage was near indestructable as far as the metal goes... The lining I chose just happened to get ripped to shreds :rolleyes:

Yup, rats are illegal to own here. They're considered pests, and the fear of breeding, being set loose, starting a rat epidemic, is too great.

Of course there are ways around it, people you can find that have snuck a rat into the province, bred them, and sell them, but those people aren't easy to find, they can't advertise because what they're selling isn't legal.

Turtles, I'm not sure why they're illegal to own, that started a few years ago, before that it was fine. But really, what can a turtle do? It's not like it's going to run away and start a turtle breeding program. ;)

What, Cyrus isn't getting enough exercise? You realize Cresteds were brought to China by sailors to kill rats, don't you?

Yup, rats are illegal to own here. They're considered pests, and the fear of breeding, being set loose, starting a rat epidemic, is too great.



I am not too sure it is illegal to keep rats as pets in say Ontario or any other province. I know they are classed as exotic and they are classed that way, they can be kept. In actual fact they are a clean animal, quite intelligent and make a good pet. However, give me time to research this issue and I will get back with a qualified answer as to the legality of rats as pets. Rats live in sewers, that is a given because they are scavengers, same as a lot of animals in the wild but they also live in burrows.

Tick

Tick.


Alberta is the only province in Canada—as well as one of the few places in the world—that is free of Norwegian rats.[51] Since the early 1950s, the government of Alberta has operated a rat-control program, which has been so successful that only isolated instances of wild rat sightings are reported, usually of rats arriving in the province aboard trucks or by rail. In 2006, Alberta Agriculture reports zero findings of wild rats; the only rat interceptions have been domesticated rats that have been seized from their owners. It is illegal for individual Albertans to own or keep Norwegian rats of any description; the animals can be kept in the province by only zoos, universities and colleges, and recognized research institutions. In 2009, several rats were found and captured, in small pockets in Southern Alberta,[52] putting Alberta's rat-free status in jeopardy.

Found

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=5&ved=0CCoQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FAlberta&rct=j&q=is%20it%20illegal%20to%20own%20rats%20in%20Alber ta&ei=3sldTM-HAoKBlAfQ75maCA&usg=AFQjCNGabme97dp_xRRfNfri2kDkUYOSQA&cad=rja

Under the Fauna section.

Hmmm, interesting. Can you have mice?

Tick.



Found

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=5&ved=0CCoQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FAlberta&rct=j&q=is%20it%20illegal%20to%20own%20rats%20in%20Alber ta&ei=3sldTM-HAoKBlAfQ75maCA&usg=AFQjCNGabme97dp_xRRfNfri2kDkUYOSQA&cad=rja

Under the Fauna section.

Okay, that's only alberta and that's only norwegian rats which came over as stoaways in the late l800s. Stay tuned. Will take me a while, have worked 3 over nights plus my days for the last week so very tired right now but I will keep on it, alty.

Tick

Haha Cats, yep they are very good 'ratters' but surprisingly I would trust Cyrus a lot more than I would trust Brody or Prada!
They would be locked away in the bedroom while mr or mrs rat has it's time out.

Not too worried about it being in a cage with them around because we had Dora (the rabbit) in the living room at one point and after about an hour of yelling at them they completely ignored her.

Going to price some things today, I'll let you know how we go :)

Oh and one last question...

Do you think it would be OK to buy one from a pet store?
Or should we try and find someone who breeds them and go there directly?

Mice are allowed. In fact, I almost bought a mouse instead of a hamster. They had some really cute mice when we went to pick up Chicklet (the hamster) they were white and brown. My cousin had a mouse that actually slept on her pillow at night. Very tame, very well trained. They're smart little animals.

Tick, as far as I know it's not just Norwegian rats, but I could be wrong. All I do know is that I have never seen rats in any pets stores or in the shelters. I've never seen an ad for rats in the paper. You simply can't purchase them here.

A pet store rat would be fine I think (I've bought most my small animals from one, except one ferret). There more expensive at a pet store, but around here they come with a year health guarantee and such, most rat/hamster/mouse and other small animals around here
Are bred by kids who decided to put there animal with there friend
And make babies... It's sad but...

Well... I sort of impulse bought... but she was so darn cute!

Yep, we bought a female, her name is Mint and she is about 10 weeks old.
She is from a pet store but I was surprised at how knowledgeable they were about rats! We got given a big care sheet on them and the girl knew a lot about them, she made sure we had everything we needed to care for her.
I was gobsmacked to be honest, usually it's just "You give me money, I give you rat" She comes with a 7 day health guarantee too and if she gets sick I have to give them a call and they will pay for a visit to their vet.

Here's a picture of the cage... MIL's birdcage was bigger than I remembered so we went with that.
The cardboard nesting box and carboard shelf will be going, it's just for the time being until we get better ones.
The hammock I made of an old faux fur cushion cover :D

Oh and I will try and get a picture of her later, she's sleeping inside the box at the moment!

Congrats Shazzy.

If you're not careful you're going to outdo me on the petting zoo. ;)

I know! That's 5 animals now (not counting fish lol)

I feel bad about buying her from a pet store but honestly, I wouldn't even know where to begin looking for a breeder.

She's such an inquisitive little thing, not like I thought they would be at all, I thought she would hide inside the box for a while until she got used to us but she ran around jumping on all the toys so we got her out and she just ran circles around our shoulders lol. She keeps trying to get inside my ear though which is kind of disturbing, and tickles :D

I'll let her have a playdate with Dora tomorrow when she comes in for her run.
I found this site which is awesome, they say to make a run for them out of carboard :D
Rat Toy Ideas (http://www.dapper.com.au/toys.htm#peafishing)

Sorry, I'm gibbering on but I'm so excited :D

...keeps trying to get inside my ear though which is kind of disturbing, and and tickles :D

How many times have I heard this complaint? ;)

*sigh*

Have fun, Shaz. If she gets out and hides, hit me up. I do know non-lethal ways to draw them out.

KP, you can lick my ear any time you like :)

And Cats, as long as they are non-lethal!!
Haha, nah we have everything pretty well rat-proof because of the dogs, they do enjoy watching her though... for hours at a time... licking their lips.

There's an Eww factor to this discussion for me. You might have noticed I HATE RODENTS. Childhood trauma and macho overcompensation and all that psychobabble but they give me the shivers. Michael and Jason and Freddy got nothing but my scariest movie of all time is Willard. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willard_(1971_film)

Awe congrats! The cage seems large enough for two... If you notice her acting depressed you can always get another! A great idea for adding another floor is to hang a pillow case (one of the ones that open in the
Middle) across the top of the cage with the clip things (they come on water bottles and such) our ferrets love sleeping in the pouch and running around on it. If you don't understand I can attach a photo of mine.

Don't feel bad about getting her from a petstore, especially one that seems
Really knowledgeable, obviously they care about there animals and want them to go to a good home! Can't wait for
Pictures!

We have had her out about 5 times today but keep forgetting to take photos lol
I took one through the bars while she was having a drink, that'll have to do for now.

We were talking about getting another so we may still yet. Her 2 sisters are still there, pretty much identical markings except Mint has a little white spot on her forehead.

And Cats, how could you think such a cute little face is ewww :p

Edit - forgot to say thanks for that idea Emily, I'm going to try it when I revamp the cage tomorrow!

Awwwwww, she's adorable!! I want one :)

She's so cute Shazzy. Looks like a big mouse. :)

I love her coloring.

She won't look like a mouse for long hehe got a bit of growing to do yet.

I found out I'm allergic to rats too which is great.
It's not bad though, she was cuddled up on the back of my neck for about half an hour earlier and I just noticed it was a bit red afterwards.
Mind you I'm also allergic to dogs, cats, horses, rabbits and that has never stopped me from owning any of them!

Mind you I'm also allergic to dogs, cats, horses, rabbits and that has never stopped me from owning any of them!

Are you allergic to irish/serb boys? I'm ownable at the present moment.

;)

are you allergic to irish/serb boys? im ownable at the present moment.

;)

If she is, I'll take you. I'm willing to put up with a rash as long as your rub lotion on it.

What thread are we on?

I'm hijacking all over the place tonight.

Bad Alty. Bad, bad Alty.

Booty spanking bunny sig ava still cracks me up.

Alty this is my thread... hijack away!

Did I hear Irish? *swoons*

Well in that case. ;)

Shazzy, I can only recommend that you buy a bigger cage if you want to own KP. Also, you may want to get a whip, I hear those Irish boys are hard to train. :)

Hey shazzy, I just found this thread. Mint is adorable, and the cage looks perfect! I've never had rats, but I have had mice and hammy's. I had a good friend who had rats, lots of 'em. But she only started with one, and she kept him alone for a few years before her husband bought her another one. Than it was all down hill from there. Every time he would get in trouble, he would come home with a new rat, and a new cage.

Anywhoo, she looks happy as a pig in well... yo get it lol.

Congrats! :)

Um. I haven't received my usual updates.
I thoughts we was talkin' rats. I come back and there is talk of caging Irish boys & whips?
I'm so very ascared. :o


Mint is very cute shaz.

Oh poor JAL, you get used to Alty's Hijacking after a year or so of it :p